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Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Perpetual Grace, LTD’

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A year after her classic role as Deadite-slayer Kelly Maxwell on “Ash vs. Evil Dead” came to an end, Dana DeLorenzo is once again living in a state of grace — and appropriately it’s in the critically acclaimed noir drama series “Perpetual Grace, LTD.”

Wrapping up its first season with its 10th episode on Sunday on EPIX, “Perpetual Grace, LTD” follows the twisty plight of James (Jimmi Simpson), a hopeless drifter who is lured into a seemingly simple plan to pilfer $4 million from pastor Byron Brown (Sir Ben Kingsley) and his wife, Lillian (Jacki Weaver). Unbeknownst to James, “Pa,” as the pastor is known, is far more dangerous than he could have imagined, and the unforeseen circumstances pull the deeply damaged soul into a labyrinth from which there appears to be no escape.

Damon Herriman plays Paul Allen Brown, the manipulative, estranged son of the Browns who concocts the plan with his scheming girlfriend, Valerie Spoontz (DeLorenzo) — a used car saleswoman who ropes an unsuspecting sheriff, Hector Contreras (Luis Guzmán), into the plot.

“The series is so gripping. I’m such a fangirl of this show,” DeLorenzo enthused in a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles. “And it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a small part of it, which I am grateful for.  But I love the show as a viewer as much as I loved filming it.”

One of the most refreshing shows to come down the television pike in quite some time, “Perpetual Grace,” created by Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris, is a wildly imaginative series that clearly tips its cap to Alfred Hitchcock. Still, the series doesn’t take 100 percent of its cues from The Master of Suspense, and in fact, it sometimes seems to employ the dark humor of the Coen brothers. Almost seeming to defy any sort label, one thing is for certain: With “Perpetual Grace,” Conrad and Terris elevate the mystery genre.

“People are trying to fit it in a box and this show does not fit in a box. I love its originality,” DeLorenzo said. “How I’ve been describing it is a ‘Hitchcock-inspired, dark comedy thriller with heart.’ If there’s any influence that Steven and Bruce have talked about, it is Hitchcock, even in the script, it would say, ‘Hitchcock close-up.’ They bring in that dark, suspenseful thriller aspect in a very specific way — the way that Hitchcock might — but then incorporate comedy by turning the situation on its head in a way that borders on the absurd.  Because life can be pretty absurd during tumultuous times. And the absurdity makes it hilarious.”

By saying “absurd,” DeLorenzo doesn’t mean “Perpetual Grace” is a farce, but rather has moments where the scenes can be darkly comedic amid some very serious circumstances.

“In those really dark moments, you can have a character like New Leaf (Chris Conrad), carrying around a Chili’s buzzer that he rigged to his parents’ life support, which will light up when his parents die. He gets an identical buzzer while he’s waiting for a table at a Chili’s.  He confuses which one is which,” DeLorenzo continued. “Suddenly one of them goes off. Is it the parents-are-dead buzzer, or your-table-is-ready-buzzer? The suspense creates tension and ultimately some painfully funny dialogue.”

DeLorenzo added that the moment isn’t “funny like a one-liner,” it’s funny because in life’s darkest moments, there can be things that are oddly amusing.

“What makes ‘Perpetual Grace, LTD.’ such a compelling story is the characters. They are completely original, nuanced and wonderfully specific. And yet, relatable. You root for these characters because they’re broken, struggling to relieve the guilt for something they caused. Each of them wants to right their wrong,” DeLorenzo explained. “But the harder they try, the worse everything gets, and eventually they all become intertwined in a spider-web-in-quicksand kind of way.”

“It’s morbid and tragic, yet optimistic. But it’s also wonderful, comedically. I really love how Steven and Bruce know how to swing that pendulum a certain amount,” DeLorenzo said. “It never gets too serious or too silly. Right when it’s about to go one way, the pendulum swings back to the other. I really commend them for how effortlessly they do that.” DeLorenzo said the opportunity to do “Perpetual Grace” came around when she least expected it, thanks to her previous connections to Conrad and Terris, who she worked with together and separately 10 years ago on some TV pilots in Chicago. And while the actress’ screen time is far less than the time she spent on “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” DeLorenzo didn’t spend her time off away from the set, but rather shadowing Conrad directing every chance she could get.

Perhaps DeLorenzo’s biggest coup on “Perpetual Grace” was having the opportunity to watch Kingsley in the fifth episode of the series, which features a stirring, four-page monologue that the Oscar-winning actor shot over the course over three days. She said the opportunity was “a masterclass on acting” and gave her and Kingsley the chance to bond, simply because both are such huge admirers of Conrad’s writing.

“When Steven introduced me to Sir Ben,  of course, I fumbled, I couldn’t even say ‘honor to meet you’ in a complete sentence. But he was so gracious and kind, he took my hands and kissed both sides of my cheeks, so I finally stopped blabbering,” DeLorenzo recalled. “And then we started talking about the writing, and how he jumped at the chance to do this, which Steven said was thrilling because he was their dream choice for the role.”

What came next is a moment DeLorenzo said she will never forget, mainly out of potential embarrassment.

“I said to Sir Ben, ‘Yeah, Steven is such a brilliant writer that all you have to do as an actor is just say the lines, like David Mamet said.’ And his response was, ‘You’re absolutely right.’ I remember thinking after that, ‘I hope Ben Kingsley doesn’t think him I’m giving him notes on how to act!’” DeLorenzo said, laughing.

Luckily, DeLorenzo said, Kingsley is a “consummate professional with zero ego,” which made an already satisfying experience on “Perpetual Grace” all the more worthwhile. “Being part this show has been a tremendously exhilarating experience,” DeLorenzo said. “I’m just counting the days to when, hopefully, we go back to work. Because I miss it. I’m desperate to see where this story and characters go from here.”

And while DeLorenzo has already had a dream job as one of stars of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” the opportunity to do a show like “Perpetual Grace” helped her scale even higher professional heights after a decade and a half of struggles trying to get a foothold as an actor in Hollywood.

“I’m passionate about ‘Perpetual Grace’ because after 15 years of the highs and lows and rejections and triumphs, it’s all worth it when I get to work on something I love with people I’ve admired for a while — especially when those people are all passionate about the work, and everyone’s there for the same reason you are: to bring a story to life,” DeLorenzo said, humbly. “I get to be part of a dream team and everyone is a team player. I don’t take a day of it for granted because that kind of camaraderie is what it’s about, man.”

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,”  WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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Cool Movie Toys, Interviews, TV

NECA unleashes Possessed Ashy Slashy to haunt Dana DeLorenzo (again!)

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Without question, one of the most entertaining scenes during the three-season series run of STARZ’s “Ash vs. Evil Dead” happened in Season 2 in 2016, when star Dana DeLorenzo’s kick-ass Ghostbeater, Kelly Maxwell, encounters a Muppet-like hand puppet in villain Baal’s insane asylum. Named “Ashy Slashy” after the institution’s newest resident Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), the foul-mouthed, wise-ass puppet was first introduced as a warm and fuzzy therapy companion to Ash, but quickly turned to the dark side when he met Kelly.

Two years later …  just when you thought it was safe to go back to Sesame Street (or more appropriately Avenue Q) … movie and TV collectibles-maker NECA has released its second full-scale version of the Ashy Slashy hand-puppet, the Possessed Ashy Slashy. Unlike the first release of Ashy Slashy last year, the possessed version has jagged teeth and a chainsaw with its own set of teeth sticking out of its blade. In short, he’s battle-ready for those who dare to bring him to life to take a bite out of anybody who gets in his way.

In a phone conversation about “Ash vs. Evil Dead” earlier this year, DeLorenzo fondly recalled her time filming with the fuzzy little bastard, or as she famously called him in the scene, “you felt f—k!” The scene began with Ashy Slashy trying to sweet-talk Kelly, until he bares his choppers, starts up his chainsaw and an all-out throwdown begins.

Among the most memorable – and disgusting – parts of the scene was Ashy smashing Kelly’s face into a used bedpan. As it turns out, DeLorenzo recalled, producer Rob Tapert didn’t  think Ashy Slashy splashy bedpan sequence “wasn’t gross enough” and had her blow bubbles to enhance the effect.

Photo: STARZ

“The blowing bubbles in the bedpan was added later. It was an insane, intense 13-hour day of shooting the original scene with just the puppet, it was exceptionally complicated, it was all crew on deck with stunts and blood rigs, like when Ashy’s puppet head exploded from the gun at the end — that took almost a hour just to set up. So  weeks later when Rob Tapert  said, ‘We need to reshoot the puppet scene,’ and my stomach dropped, and with big eyes I asked, ‘The whole scene?’ and Rob said, ‘No, just the bedpan scene. We’re going to add something to it … we need you to blow bubbles.’ I guffawed because this is what it means to be an actor on a show called “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” DeLorenzo mused. “But hey, at least the scene was with a puppet! Not many people can say that they were in a scene where they got their head slammed into a bedpan they had to blow bubbles in by a demonic, perverted puppet.”

Of course, the duel ultimately ended with DeLorenzo saying the classic line, “Always bring a gun to a puppet fight,” where Ashy Slashy was effectively reduced to a bloody stump with Kelly’s decisive kill shot.

“That’s one of those lines that you know is sooo good and you have to resist the urge to show that you know it’s a good line and try not hitting the gas, or put your weight on it. I recalled the lessons I learned from Bruce Campbell, which was, ‘Just let it be, say the line,'” DeLorenzo recalled. “Since we filmed the scene in sequence that day, by the end I was exhausted and a little sore so it came out in a authentic way, and I think we got it in one take. What a great line. I’m in perpetual awe of writers, particularly ours.”

As it turns out, DeLorenzo said filming the Ashy Slashy fight scene was one of her favorites during the entire series – and lucky for her, she’s been immortalized in world of toys and collectibles since NECA put a photo of her kicking the puppet’s ass on the both sides of the Possessed Ashy Slashy packaging.

“Filming the scene was one my biggest challenges, but like life tends to be, the biggest challenges end up producing the biggest rewards,” DeLorenzo enthused.

•How Sam Raimi saved Dana DeLorenzo from possessed escalator
•Flashback: Bruce Campbell talks original ‘Evil Dead’ in 2002
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks Kelly Maxwell’s journey 
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season 3
•Interview: Groovy Bruce Campbell talks ‘Hail to The Chin’
•Interview: Bruce Campbell talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season 2

Oddly enough, the Ashy Slashy scene was somewhat wish-fulfillment for DeLorenzo, although she originally imagined being a part of a much more innocent puppet scene.

“My first seedling of being an actor and an entertainer when I was 2 came with watching ‘Sesame Street,'” DeLorenzo recalled. “There were kids on there talking to puppets, and I was obsessed with Big Bird, and Bert and Ernie, so it’s always been a bucket list item. The Ashy Slashy scene was not quite that, since I never knew my puppet dreams would come true by grabbing myself in the thigh and giving myself Charley horses, but man, it was pretty close.”

Look for DeLorenzo to be sharing her stories about Ashy Slashy and other memories from “Ash vs. Evil Dead” at a pair of upcoming horror conventions in the coming months. From September 21-23, she will appear with fellow “Ash vs. Evil Dead” cast members Ted Raimi and Lindsay Farris at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and on October 27 and 28, DeLorenzo will appear at Crypticon Minnesota in Minneapolis along with fellow “Ash” cast member Lee Majors.

Until then, fans can now see the complete “Ash vs. Evil Dead” series with the release of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 3, new on Blu-ray and DVD (STARZ/Anchor Bay).

As for the real Possessed Ashy Slashy, the puppet went for $5,102 in an “Ash vs. Evil Dead” prop auction earlier this summer via VIP Auctions. Sorry, fans: The puppet’s demise in the show was just a stunt — and a bloody good one at that!

Copyright 2018 DirectConversations.com

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Film, Interviews, TV

The time Sam Raimi saved Dana DeLorenzo from a demonically-possessed escalator

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Sadly, it’s the end of the road for “Ash vs. Evil Dead” when the series finale airs Sunday night on STARZ, but before fans start mourning the loss the show, they can take comfort in knowing that the amazing memories of it will live on not only in the episodes of the horror comedy, but in the stories about it from the likes of its bloody great cast members.

For Dana DeLorenzo, who made the ass-kicking role of Kelly Maxwell her own, she’ll always hold dear the pilot episode of the series, because it gave her the unique opportunity to work with director Sam Raimi, the architect of the “Evil Dead” universe. For a glorious 22 days, DeLorenzo and her fellow cast members shot the pilot in New Zealand, which would be the production home for the show for the entirety of its three seasons; and where she marveled at Raimi’s passion for the craft of making the impossible possible and giving “Ash vs. Evil Dead” its crucial first breaths of life.

The wonderful thing DeLorenzo discovered about the “Spider-Man” trilogy filmmaker was that he was just as much of a superhero and person off the set as he was on. In one instance, she was a first-person witness to his heroic actions as he rescued her from, appropriately, a demonically-possessed escalator in Auckland, New Zealand.

In a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles, DeLorenzo said it all occurred at SkyCity, which includes a massive tower like the Seattle Space Needle, after Raimi wrapped up his work on the “Ash vs. Evil Dead” pilot.

“It was Sam’s last night in New Zealand and we were all celebrating. Bruce and his wife, Ida, were there, me, Jill (Marie Jones) and Ray (Santiago), as well as Sam,” DeLorenzo recalled. “We were at the Sky Tower and in the center of it — I can’t even give you the scale of it because it is so big – there were two escalators that were the biggest things I’ve ever seen in my life. They went on for days.”

At the end of the night, DeLorenzo said, the group was coming down one of the monster escalators when suddenly the jovial atmosphere turned into something that you would see in, well, “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”

“We were goofing around and dancing on the way down, and I’m the first one off the first of the escalators to turn and go down the final escalator. I was wearing this very loose, stretchy, spandex-y, very wide-legged jumpsuit, and when we got to the bottom I was starting to walk, and something pulled by leg back,” DeLorenzo said. “All of a sudden, because the jumpsuit was all connected, the elastic top – strapless, by the way – starts pulling down. It’s was truly like Kelly trying to get through The Rift and I couldn’t move forward, and the jumpsuit is slowly being ripped off me from the top to the bottom. This all happened in a split-second, but it was very slow in my mind as things very terrifying at the moment are, and I screamed instinctively.  I screamed because in a second I was going to be standing in the middle of Sky Tower for all to see, naked!”

DeLorenzo said as she tried to hold her top on, Jones hopped in front of her to cover her chest, and “then comes this hero Sam Raimi.”

“He jumped off the escalator in his suit and gets down on the floor on his hands and knees and starts yanking the bottom of my jumpsuit from the evil, possessed escalator,” DeLorenzo said while literally acting out the madness of the moment. “He was pulling with all his might. He was ripping and grunting because it would not rip, and finally, on the third tug, they did, and half of my pants went up the escalator – they’re gone – but luckily, Sam Raimi saved my life. I was physically being pulled into the escalator because it was that strong. I was not only about to be dragged up the escalator, but humiliation-wise, I was about to be butt-ass naked in front of half the city of Auckland, New Zealand. After saving the day, Sam slowly stood up and started brushing himself off and said, ‘Well that was sobering!’ and everyone laughed.”

Pure class

While she can laugh now about the time Raimi selflessly jumped in and saved her from the demonically-possessed escalator, DeLorenzo is completely serious about the pure class of the filmmaker from the day she auditioned for “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”

“I’ve said from Day 1 since I had my screen test with Sam and Bruce, and Sam was the man behind the camera – it was an actual camcorder on a little tripod, which I loved – and in a three-piece suit, that he is both the most and least intimidating person in the room,” DeLorenzo said. “When talks to you, he is so disarming and looks at you as if no one is there, no matter what else is going on. So, I’m in this room full of producers, shaking this man’s hand who I know is the great Sam Raimi, and he is just asking me about my shoes, he’s asking how my day was, and it felt more like that I was talking to Sam the butcher at the grocery store. He then walked away, and I realized, ‘Holy shit! That was Sam Raimi!'”

​DeLorenzo said she is also grateful to “Ash vs. Evil Dead” casting director Lauren Grey, who brought her in for the initial audition and callback. In addition to Grey and showrunner Craig DiGregorio, DeLorenzo feels Raimi is one of the main reasons she was cast as Kelly Maxwell.

“It was because he made me feel so comfortable,” DeLorenzo said, admirably. “Comfortable enough to do something I’ve never done in any audition – even for a commercial, let alone a production as big as this – and ask for another take and do it again.”​

As fate would have it, asking for that second take is the reason fans had the opportunity to watch DeLorenzo not just play – but define – who Kelly Maxwell was through three seasons of “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”

“I owe so much to Sam, and I have taken so much away from not only the screen test with him,” she said. “He set the bar for the show for me and for the character of Kelly, and he showed so much class because of the way he collaborates with people.”

DeLorenzo said that because Raimi is such a high-profile filmmaker, he could have just said, “‘We’re going to do it this way’ and everybody would have said, ‘Yes! Sure! Fine!'”

But he didn’t.

“Instead, he set the bar and not only learned everyone’s names – and go up to everyone in-between shots, to the people doing the thankless jobs that no one ever credits them for – and ask them how their day was,” DeLorenzo said. “With me, regarding Kelly, h​e asked me to sit down and said, ‘I want you to help me write this scene. I want to rework this thing,’ and I said, ‘Uh, Sam, I’ll just do whatever you want!’​ And he corrected me and said, ‘No. I asked you because I want you to help me.’ I was just so blown away by that.

“Sam Raimi was willing to take his baby and say, ‘I want you to have some input. I want to hear you say what you think Kelly’s backstory is and what do you think happened Kelly’s mom. Why did she die six months ago in a car accident?'” DeLorenzo added. “Because of that, it informed Kelly for me for the rest of her journey. It was so vital because that stuff matters. You might ever see that backstory on screen, but that matters and informs who I am playing. I am so indebted to Sam.”

MORE:
•Interview vault: Bruce Campbell talks ‘Evil Dead’ in 2002 (NEW)
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks Kelly Maxwell’s journey (NEW)
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ season 3
•Interview: Groovy Bruce Campbell talks ‘Hail to The Chin’


Interview vault: Tim Lammers talks with Sam Raimi in 1999.

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Film, Interviews, TV

Interview vault: Bruce Campbell reminisces about ‘Evil Dead’ in 2002

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NOTE: To celebrate the entire “Evil Dead” film and television experience as “Ash vs. Evil Dead” approaches its series finale Sunday night on STARZ, the  following is a reprint of an interview I did with Bruce Campbell in 2002 for the Anchor Bay Entertainment release of the “Book of the Dead” special edition DVD of “The Evil Dead.”

Thanks for all the memories, Bruce, and Hail to the King, Baby!

By Tim Lammers

April 2002

Although some actors despise being associated with one particular role, it doesn’t bother Bruce Campbell in the least that fans continue to kiss his Ash nearly 20 years after the release of the cult horror film classic “Evil Dead.”

“I don’t have a problem with ‘Evil Dead’ — people misinterpret that sometimes,” Campbell told me in a recent interview.   “This film gave us the most creative freedom of any movie we’ve ever done in the following 20 years.”

Ash, for those who are familiar the film, is the square-jawed moronic anti-hero who battles his way through a haunted cabin, possessed woods and a trip back to the medieval times in the film and its two sequels, “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness.”

Although many know him as Ash, Campbell is hardly a one-trick pony. Since the debut of “Evil Dead” in 1982, he’s gone on to act and direct in several other notable projects, including such television gems as “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,” “Hercules:  The Legendary Journeys,” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.”  Sure, the “Evil Dead” keeps coming back to haunt him, but in his case, that’s a good thing.

Directed and produced by longtime friends Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, respectively, the trilogy of films have developed an enormous following over the past 19 years, culminating in the latest release “The Book of the Dead,” a limited edition DVD of the film that not only chronicles the making of the film, but examines the impact it’s had on fans with Campbell’s documentary short “Fanalysis.”

Even keeping true to the (evil) spirit of the film, the DVDs producer and distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment, has packaged the disc and other contents in a replica of the Necronomicon from the film.  For the lack of a better word (as Ash would say), it’s “groovy.”

Photo: Anchor Bay Entertainment/Renaissance Pictures

But anybody familiar with the movie knows that there’s much more to this “book” than its creepy cover.  Shot on a shoestring budget in Tennessee and their home state of Michigan, Campbell, Raimi, and Tapert weave together a bloodstained tapestry of movie magic, madness and mayhem.

Marked by Raimi’s wild, kaleidoscopic point-of-view shots and hyperkinetic pacing (and Campbell’s willingness to playfully and painfully get his butt kicked on cue), it puts that other lost-in-the-woods movie, “The Blair Witch Project,” to pitiful shame.

But more than anything, it’s the end result of a group of friends’ effort to defy all odds and see their dreams and passion to make a movie come to fruition.

“It thumbs its nose at the system and I think a lot of people can identify with it,” Campbell said.  “‘Evil Dead’ is completely independent and off the grid.  There was no studio financing whatsoever.  People get behind it because it’s the David against Goliath, it’s the little engine that could, because it only cost $350,000 to make, but in 1998 when it got released on video, this crappy little movie got to No. 3 on the charts behind ‘Titanic’ and ‘Lady and the Tramp.’  People like to see little things succeed.”

•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks Kelly Maxwell’s journey (NEW)
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ season 3
•Interview: Groovy Bruce Campbell talks ‘Hail to The Chin’

The continuing success of the film and its sequels, of course, contributed to Campbell’s opportunity to write his critically acclaimed book “If Chins Could Kill:  Confessions of a B-Movie Actor.”  For those who haven’t read it yet, it takes a few shots at few celebrities, but is far from being a trashy tell-all tome.

“It’s about making low-budget movies and I mention a few people along the way,” Campbell said. “But I don’t go out of my way to trash anybody, and if I did, it’s because I felt that they were idiots.  It’s not that I’m not an idiot, it’s just that I thought they were bigger idiots.”

Readers reacted favorably to “If Chins Could Kill,” propelling it to peak at No. 19 on the New York Times Bestseller’s List.  The success, as a result, has given Campbell a whole new status in the entertainment industry.

“It’s better, because you get more respect,” he said. “That’s what is hard, is to get any respect.  I’m actually tempted to write a novel and try and make it into a movie because it will get read more easily than if I wrote it as a script.  It’s bizarre.”

There’s no question that Campbell has earned a massive amount of respect from the fans:  His website is wildly popular, and in the past two years, the merchandise relating to the films has been coming out at a fast and furious pace to whet the appetites of those who can’t get enough of the films.

Among them, McFarlane Toys has released three different action figures from “Army of Darkness,” while National Entertainment Collectibles Association has produced a plethora of products ranging from “Evil Dead” and “Army of Darkness” lunch boxes to an Ash “Head Knocker,” which is reminiscent of a bobble-head doll.

And, there’s even more to come:  Sideshow Toy, praised for its dead-on (no pun intended) creation of the 12-inch Universal Monsters doll series, will soon be releasing Ash and Evil Ash dolls from “Army of Darkness.”

“Dead” merchandise aside, the ultimate experience for any fan of the films is to get to meet Campbell in person, and the actor has given his followers plenty of opportunities.  Although he’s frequented the convention circuit for the past few years, the release of “If Chins Could Kill” in 2001 gave many more “Evil Dead” fans the opportunity to talk with the man.  He made tour stops in 65 cities, and is up for it again for future projects as long as he remains in demand.

“As long as people keep buying what I’m doing (I’ll do it),” Campbell said. “I’m an actor, a gypsy, a dog-and-pony show sort of guy.  At one point it might be because I’m working on a TV show, or it could be because I’m writing a book or in a movie.  It’s nice to have job rotation within the entertainment factory.”

Photo: Anchor Bay Entertainment/Renaissance Pictures

Part of Campbell’s most current rotation came with a small, but memorable role in Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic,” where he played the swashbuckling hero of screenwriter Peter Appleton’s (Jim Carrey) classic-style adventure film “Sand Pirates of the Sahara.”  The call for the role came from a high-profile fan:  director Frank Darabont.

“Darabont had known of me from the ‘Evil Dead’ movies so he gave me a holler — So Jim got to star in the ‘A’ movie and as always, I got to star in the ‘B’ movie,” Campbell mused.

Of course, anyone who has seen “The Majestic” or Darabont’s prior two films “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” know the filmmaker has an incredible handle on recreating the atmosphere of the classic films of yesteryear.  In the case of “The Majestic,” Campbell believes Darabont’s deft touch was ultimately the downfall of the film, which was a disappointment at the box office.

“There’s a strange demographic change happening,” Campbell said.  “Movies never used to be marketed at teenagers, they used to be marketed at adults.  So when your marketing changes, your movies are going to change right with it and unfortunately it’s led us into an embarrassing, tragic phase of filmmaking in the last 20 years.”

But there is hope.  Campbell and Raimi have teamed together again, if only briefly, in the director’s big-screen version of “Spider-Man” which debuts in theaters May 3.

“It’s a pivotal role, because I give Spider-Man his name,” Campbell said. “You won’t see much of me, but its pivotal.”

No matter the amount of screen time, there’s no question it will be, well, groovy.  What else would you expect from a Campbell and Raimi movie?

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